The prevalence of Internet addiction among students and its relationship with family function: The mediating role of the perceived social support

The present study aimed to survey the prevalence of Internet addiction and its relationship with family function by considering the mediating role of the perceived social support among university students. A descriptive design was used to examine the prevalence of the Internet addiction while a correlation design was utilized to explore the relationship between family function, perceived social support, and Internet addiction. The statistical population was all students studying in the University of Kashan in the 2015-2016 academic year. 260 students were chosen via multi-stage sampling. The data collection instruments included Family Assessment Device (FAD), Young's Internet Addiction test (IAT), and Zimet Perceived Social Support. The findings indicated that 1.5% of the students were addicted to the Internet, and there is statistically significant negative relationship between the components of family function and Internet use. In addition, the structural equation modelling results showed that family function and social support can predict excessive Internet use and explain 17% of its variance. Furthermore, the perceived social support has a mediating role in the relationship between family function and excessive Internet use.